Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

A lithographic apparatus includes a phase adjuster to adjust a phase of an optical wave traversing an optical element of the phase adjuster during exposure of a pattern on a substrate. In use, the pattern is illuminated with an illumination mode including an off-axis radiation beam. This beam is diffracted into a number of first-order diffracted beams, one associated with a first pitch in the pattern, along a first direction, another associated with a second pitch along a different, second direction. An area is identified where the first-order diffracted beam associated with the first pitch traverses the optical element. An image characteristic of an image of the pattern is optimized by calculating a desired optical phase of this first-order diffracted beam in relation to the optical phase of the other first-order diffracted beam. The phase adjuster is controlled to apply the desired optical phase to the first order diffracted beam.

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/159,979, filed Jun. 14, 2011, now allowed, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/488,291, filed Jun.19, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,856, which claims priority and benefitunder 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/129,407, entitled “Lithographic Apparatus and Device ManufacturingMethod”, filed on Jun. 24, 2008. The contents of each of the foregoingapplications are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and a methodfor manufacturing a device.

BACKGROUND

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired patternonto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. Alithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture ofintegrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, whichis alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used toimpart a beam of radiation with a pattern in its cross-section, thepattern corresponding to a circuit pattern to be formed on an individuallayer of the IC. This pattern can be imaged or transferred onto a targetportion (e.g. comprising part of one, or several dies) on a substrate(e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imagingonto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on thesubstrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network ofadjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Knownlithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each targetportion is irradiated by exposing an image of the entire pattern ontothe target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which eachtarget portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiationbeam in a given direction (the “scanning”-direction) while synchronouslyscanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. Itis also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device tothe substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry there is increasing demandfor ever-smaller features and increased density of features. The desiredcritical dimension (CD) of a smallest feature to be printedlithographically is rapidly decreasing and is becoming very close to thetheoretical resolution limit of state-of-the-art exposure tools such assteppers and scanners as described above. Conventional technologiesaimed at enhancing resolution and minimizing printable CD includereducing the wavelength of the exposure radiation, increasing thenumerical aperture (NA) of the projection system of the lithographicapparatus, and/or including features in a patterning device patternsmaller than the resolution limit of the exposure tool so that they willnot print on the substrate, but so that they will produce diffractioneffects which can improve contrast and sharpen fine features.

When such conventional resolution enhancement techniques are applied toa lithographic printing process wherein a desired pattern to be printedis repetitive along two different directions, the repetitivenesscharacterized by two corresponding different pitches, a size-error of afeature as printed may be beyond tolerance. This may be due to a problemknown as the optical proximity effect. This is caused by the inherentdifference in the diffraction pattern for isolated features as comparedto dense features. Dense features may include nested patterns andclosely spaced periodic features. The optical proximity effect may, forexample, lead to a difference in CD when dense and more isolated contactholes or lines are printed at the same time.

The optical proximity effect also depends on the illumination settingused. Originally, so-called conventional illumination modes have beenused which have a disc-like intensity distribution of the illuminationradiation at the pupil of the projection system. However, with the trendto imaging smaller features, off-axis illumination modes have becomestandard in order to improve the process window, i.e. the exposurelatitude in combination with depth of focus, for small features.However, the optical proximity effect becomes worse for off-axisillumination modes, such as annular illumination.

SUMMARY

It is desirable, for example, to alleviate, at least partially, aproblem of optical proximity effect and/or one or more other problemsnot mentioned herein.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided alithographic apparatus comprising:

an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam with anillumination mode including an off-axis radiation beam emerging from anillumination pole and inclined at an angle with respect to an opticalaxis;

-   -   a support constructed to support a patterning device, the        patterning device being capable of imparting the radiation beam        with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned        radiation beam and further being capable of diffracting the        off-axis radiation beam into a first first-order diffracted beam        associated with a first pitch of the pattern along a first        direction, and a second first-order diffracted beam associated        with a second pitch of the pattern along a different, second        direction;

a projection system having a pupil plane and configured to project thepatterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate;

a phase adjuster constructed and arranged to adjust a phase of anelectric field of a radiation beam traversing an optical element of thephase adjuster disposed in the pupil plane; and

a controller constructed and arranged to retrieve data representative ofthe pattern and of the illumination mode, to identify an area where thefirst-order diffracted beam traverses, in use, the pupil plane, tooptimize an image characteristic of an image of the pattern bycalculating a desired optical phase of the first-order diffracted beamin relation to the optical phase of the second first-order diffractedbeam, to map the area on a portion of the optical element, and to applyheat to or extract heat from, the portion to change the index ofrefraction of the optical element in accordance with the desired opticalphase.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a devicemanufacturing method comprising transferring a pattern from a patterningdevice onto a substrate, the method including:

illuminating, with a radiation beam having an illumination modeincluding an off-axis radiation beam emerging from an illumination poleand inclined at an angle with respect to an optical axis, a patterningdevice, the patterning device imparting the radiation beam with apattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam andfurther diffracting the off-axis radiation beam into a first first-orderdiffracted beam associated with a first pitch along a first direction inthe pattern, and into a second first-order diffracted beam associatedwith a second pitch along a different, second direction in the pattern;

projecting the patterned radiation beam via a pupil plane onto a targetportion of the substrate;

adjusting a phase of an electric field of a radiation beam traversing anoptical element disposed in the pupil plane, the adjusting including:

retrieving data representative of the pattern and of the illuminationmode,

-   -   identifying an area where the first-order diffracted beam        traverses the pupil plane,    -   optimizing an image characteristic of an image of the pattern by        calculating a desired optical phase of the first-order        diffracted beam in relation to the optical phase of the second        first-order diffracted beam,    -   mapping the area on a portion of the optical element, and    -   applying heat to or extracting heat from, the portion to change        the index of refraction of the optical element in accordance        with the desired optical phase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in whichcorresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 depicts a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a phase adjuster configured to change a phase of anelectromagnetic wave traversing a projection system of the lithographicapparatus;

FIG. 3 illustrates an optical element included in the phase adjuster;

FIG. 4 depicts temperature controllable portions of the optical elementincluded in the phase adjuster;

FIG. 5 depicts a quadrupole illumination mode;

FIG. 6A illustrates a pattern of contact holes generated by a patterningdevice;

FIG. 6B illustrates a desired shape of a contact hole of the pattern ofFIG. 6A and a simulated shape as printed of the contact hole;

FIG. 6C illustrates different portions of an image of a contact hole ofthe pattern of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6D illustrates a change of a shape of a contact hole of the patternof FIG. 6A as obtained in an embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts diffracted beams originating from a single illuminationbeam of the quadrupole illumination mode;

FIG. 8 depicts diffracted beams originating from a pole of thequadrupole illumination mode adjacent to the pole of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 depicts additional diffracted beams originating from the singlebeam of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 depicts areas traversed by diffracted beams to which a change ofphase is applied in an embodiment;

FIG. 11A illustrates two intensity distributions in two cross sectionsof an image of a contact hole of the pattern of FIG. 6A in the absenceof optical phase changes applied according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 11B illustrates two intensity distributions in two cross sectionsof an image of a contact hole of the pattern of FIG. 6A in the presenceof optical phase changes applied according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus 100 according toan embodiment of the invention. The apparatus 100 comprises:

an illumination system (illuminator) IL configured to condition aradiation beam B (e.g. UV radiation such as generated by an excimerlaser operating at a wavelength of 248 nm or 193 nm, or EUV radiation asgenerated by, for example, a laser-fired plasma source operating at 13.6nm wavelength);

a support structure (e.g. a mask table) MT constructed to support apatterning device (e.g. a mask) MA and connected to a first positionerPM configured to accurately position the patterning device in accordancewith certain parameters;

a substrate table (e.g. a wafer table) WT constructed to hold asubstrate (e.g. a resist-coated wafer) W and connected to a secondpositioner PW configured to accurately position the substrate inaccordance with certain parameters; and

a projection system (e.g. a refractive projection lens system) PSconfigured to project a pattern imparted to the radiation beam B bypatterning device MA onto a target portion C (e.g. comprising one ormore dies) of the substrate W.

The illumination system may include various types of optical components,such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostaticor other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, fordirecting, shaping, or controlling radiation.

The support structure MT holds the patterning device. It holds thepatterning device in a manner that depends on the orientation of thepatterning device, the design of the lithographic apparatus, and otherconditions, such as for example whether or not the patterning device isheld in a vacuum environment. The support structure MT can usemechanical, vacuum, electrostatic or other clamping techniques to holdthe patterning device. The support structure MT may be a frame or atable, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required. Thesupport structure MT may ensure that the patterning device is at adesired position, for example with respect to the projection system. Anyuse of the terms “reticle” or “mask” herein may be considered synonymouswith the more general term “patterning device.”

The term “patterning device” used herein should be broadly interpretedas referring to any device that can be used to impart a radiation beamwith a pattern in its cross-section such as to create a pattern in atarget portion of the substrate. It should be noted that the patternimparted to the radiation beam may not exactly correspond to the desiredpattern in the target portion of the substrate, for example if thepattern includes phase-shifting features or so called assist features.Generally, the pattern imparted to the radiation beam will correspond toa particular functional layer in a device being created in the targetportion, such as an integrated circuit.

The patterning device may be transmissive or reflective. Examples ofpatterning devices include masks, programmable mirror arrays, andprogrammable LCD panels. Masks are well known in lithography, andinclude mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, andattenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. An exampleof a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of smallmirrors, each of which can be individually tilted so as to reflect anincoming radiation beam in different directions. The tilted mirrorsimpart a pattern in a radiation beam which is reflected by the mirrormatrix.

The term “projection system” used herein should be broadly interpretedas encompassing any type of projection system, including refractive,reflective, catadioptric, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostaticoptical systems, or any combination thereof, as appropriate for theexposure radiation being used, or for other factors such as the use ofan immersion liquid or the use of a vacuum. Any use of the term“projection lens” herein may be considered as synonymous with the moregeneral term “projection system”.

As here depicted, the apparatus 100 is of a transmissive type (e.g.employing a transmissive mask). Alternatively, the apparatus may be of areflective type (e.g. employing a programmable mirror array of a type asreferred to above, or employing a reflective mask).

The lithographic apparatus 100 may be of a type having two (dual stage)or more substrate tables (and/or two or more patterning device tables).In such “multiple stage” machines the additional tables may be used inparallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tableswhile one or more other tables are being used for exposure.

The lithographic apparatus 100 may also be of a type wherein at least aportion of the substrate may be covered by a liquid having a relativelyhigh refractive index, e.g. water, so as to fill a space between theprojection system and the substrate. An immersion liquid may also beapplied to other spaces in the lithographic apparatus, for example,between the mask and the projection system. Immersion techniques arewell known in the art for increasing the numerical aperture ofprojection systems. The term “immersion” as used herein does not meanthat a structure, such as a substrate, must be submerged in liquid, butrather only means that liquid is located between the projection systemand the substrate during exposure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the illuminator IL receives a radiation beam from aradiation source SO. The source and the lithographic apparatus may beseparate entities, for example when the source is an excimer laser. Insuch cases, the source is not considered to form part of thelithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the sourceSO to the illuminator IL with the aid of a beam delivery system BDcomprising, for example, suitable directing mirrors and/or a beamexpander. In other cases the source may be an integral part of thelithographic apparatus, for example when the source is a mercury lamp.The source SO and the illuminator IL, together with the beam deliverysystem BD if required, may be referred to as a radiation system.

The illuminator IL may comprise an adjuster AD configured to adjust theangular intensity distribution of the radiation beam. Generally, atleast the outer and/or inner radial extent (commonly referred to asa-outer and a-inner, respectively) of the intensity distribution in apupil plane of the illuminator can be adjusted. In addition, theilluminator IL may comprise various other components, such as anintegrator IN and a condenser CO. The illuminator may be used tocondition the radiation beam, to have a desired uniformity and intensitydistribution in its cross-section.

The radiation beam B is incident on the patterning device (e.g., mask)MA, which is held on the support structure (e.g., mask table) MT, and ispatterned by the patterning device. Having traversed the patterningdevice MA, the radiation beam B passes through the projection system PS,which focuses the beam onto a target portion C of the substrate W. Withthe aid of the second positioner PW and position sensor IF (e.g. aninterferometric device, linear encoder or capacitive sensor), thesubstrate table WT can be moved accurately, e.g. so as to positiondifferent target portions C in the path of the radiation beam B.Similarly, the first positioner PM and another position sensor (which isnot explicitly depicted in FIG. 1) can be used to accurately positionthe patterning device MA with respect to the path of the radiation beamB, e.g. after mechanical retrieval from a mask library, or during ascan. In general, movement of the patterning device table MT may berealized with the aid of a long-stroke module (coarse positioning) and ashort-stroke module (fine positioning), which form part of the firstpositioner PM. Similarly, movement of the substrate table WT may berealized using a long-stroke module and a short-stroke module, whichform part of the second positioner PW. In the case of a stepper (asopposed to a scanner) the patterning device table MT may be connected toa short-stroke actuator only, or may be fixed. Patterning device MA andsubstrate W may be aligned using patterning device alignment marks M1,M2 and substrate alignment marks P1, P2. Although the substratealignment marks as illustrated occupy dedicated target portions, theymay be located in spaces between target portions (these are known asscribe-lane alignment marks). Similarly, in situations in which morethan one die is provided on the patterning device MA, the patterningdevice alignment marks may be located between the dies.

The depicted apparatus 100 could be used in at least one of thefollowing modes:

In step mode, the support structure MT and the substrate table WT arekept essentially stationary, while an entire pattern imparted to theradiation beam is projected onto a target portion C at one time (i.e. asingle static exposure). The substrate table WT is then shifted in the Xand/or Y direction so that a different target portion C can be exposed.In step mode, the maximum size of the exposure field limits the size ofthe target portion C imaged in a single static exposure.

In scan mode, the support structure MT and the substrate table WT arescanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam isprojected onto a target portion C (i.e. a single dynamic exposure). Thevelocity and direction of the substrate table WT relative to the supportstructure MT may be determined by the (de-)magnification and imagereversal characteristics of the projection system PS. In scan mode, themaximum size of the exposure field limits the width (in the non-scanningdirection) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure, whereasthe length of the scanning motion determines the height (in the scanningdirection) of the target portion.

In another mode, the support structure MT is kept essentially stationaryholding a programmable patterning device, and the substrate table WT ismoved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam isprojected onto a target portion C. In this mode, generally a pulsedradiation source is employed and the programmable patterning device isupdated as required after each movement of the substrate table WT or inbetween successive radiation pulses during a scan. This mode ofoperation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizesprogrammable patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of atype as referred to above.

Combinations and/or variations on the above described modes of use orentirely different modes of use may also be employed.

The optical arrangement of the apparatus of FIG. 1 uses Koehlerillumination. With Koehler illumination, a pupil plane PP_(i) in theillumination system IL is conjugate to a pupil plane PP_(p) of theprojection system PS. The pupil plane PP_(p) is a Fourier transformplane of the object plane in which the patterning device MA is located.As is conventional, an illumination mode of this apparatus can bedescribed by reference to the distribution of intensity of the radiationof the beam B in the pupil plane PP_(i) of the illumination system. Thedistribution of intensity in the pupil plane PP_(p) of the projectionsystem PS will be substantially the same as the distribution ofintensity in the pupil plane PP_(i) of the illumination system, subjectto diffraction effects of the pattern of the patterning device MA.

The projection system PS comprises a phase adjuster 110 constructed andarranged to adjust a phase of an electric field of an optical radiationbeam traversing the projection system. As schematically shown in FIG. 2,the phase adjuster 110 may comprise an optical element 310 of a materialsubstantially transmissive for radiation of the beam B. In anembodiment, the optical element 310 may be reflective for radiation ofthe beam 340. The phase adjuster 110 may further comprise a controller340. An optical path length for a wave traversing the element 310 isadjustable in response to a signal supplied by controller 340. Theoptical element 310 may be disposed or disposable, for example,substantially in a Fourier Transform plane such as the pupil PPp, andsuch that—in use—it is traversed by diffracted beams DB emanating fromthe patterning device.

FIG. 3 illustrates the phase adjuster 110 in more detail, and shows atop view, along the Z-axis, of the optical element 310. An adjustment ofa phase of an optical wave traversing the element 310 may be obtained byapplying heat to, or removing heat from, a portion 320 of the opticalelement 310, thereby introducing a local change of index of refractionof the material of the element relative to the refractive index of thematerial adjacent to the portion 320. The application of heat can berealized by, for example, transmitting an electrical current through awire 330 having Ohmic resistance and being arranged in contact with theportion 320 of the element and with the controller 340 arranged toprovide the current to the wire 330.

A plurality of adjacent portions of the optical element may be providedwith a corresponding plurality of wires for heating any portionindependently from any other portion. For example, as schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 4, adjacent portions 320-1 up to 320-44 are disposedin adjacent rows and numbered from left to right and from top to bottom.Each portion 320 of the portions 320-1 up to 320-44 is provided withcorrespondingly numbered heating wires 330-1 up to 330-44 (although FIG.4, merely for clarity sake, illustrates this only for the portions 320-4and 320-37). The controller 340 is constructed and arranged such thateach wire can be current-activated independently. This enablesapplication of a spatial phase distribution to an optical wavetraversing the element 310, in accordance with a spatial distribution ofthe temperature over the element 310 in the X,Y plane.

In addition or alternatively, the optical element 310 may include achannel arranged to contain a cooling fluid. The phase adjuster 110 mayinclude a cooling fluid supply and retrieval system connected to thechannel and arranged to circulate cooling fluid at a controlledtemperature through the channel. Like the wires 330, a cooling channelmay be associated with each portion 320; however, alternatively a singlecooling channel may be arranged for all portions 320. A cooling of theelement 310 in combination with heating a portion 320 of the element 310may enable adjusting the temperature of the portion 320 within a rangeof temperatures extending both below and above a nominal temperature.The nominal temperature may, for example, be a specified desiredoperating temperature of the apparatus 100 or of the material of theoptical elements of the projection system PS.

Embodiments of a phase adjuster 110 can be gleaned from U.S. Pat. No.7,525,640. A total number of portions 320 is not limited to 44. Insteadit may in general depend on a desired spatial resolution of temperaturedistributions. For example, a ratio of the area of each of the portions320 to the size of a clear area in the pupil plane PPi of the projectionsystem PS may be between 100 and 1000.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiment, described above, of the phase adjuster 110. Such anembodiment is presented herein for illustrative purposes only. As afurther example, a phase adjuster 110 may include an infrared laser (ora plurality of infrared lasers) arranged to selectively heat portions320 of an optical element 310 disposed near the lens pupil PP_(p).Infrared radiation may be guided to selected portions of the opticalelement by means of, for example, one or more hollow optical fibers.Details of such an embodiment can be gleaned from Japanese patentapplication publication no. JP 2007-317847 A. In the absence of coolingstructure, temperatures of different portions 320 can be arranged tomutually differ from each other by supplying corresponding mutuallydifferent amounts of infrared radiation energy to the correspondingdifferent portions. A nominal temperature may then be specified as, forexample, the average temperature value of the mutually differenttemperatures.

In the embodiment, a patterning device pattern provided by thepatterning device MA is illuminated using a conventional quadrupoleillumination mode, illustrated in FIG. 5. The beam B includes a firstradiation beam B1 inclined at an angle al with respect to the Z-axis(which is substantially normal to the patterning device MA) in a firstplane of incidence PI1 and a second radiation beam B2, also inclined atan angle al with respect to the patterning device in a second plane ofincidence PI2. The second plane of incidence PI2 is arranged at an anglecp with respect to the plane PI1. The beam B further includes beams B1′and B2′ respectively arranged symmetrically opposite to the respectivebeams B1 and B2. The angle φ is 90 degrees in the embodiment, but is notlimited to this value. The planes PI1 and PI2 are respectively an X-Zplane and an Y-Z plane in the embodiment, but can also be chosen atother rotational orientations with respect to the Z-axis.

The pattern 600 includes rows of contact holes 610 as shown in FIG. 6A.The rows are aligned with the X-direction and each row includes contactholes 610 arranged at a pitch Px. The contact holes 610 are alsodisposed in rows along the Y-direction. Along the rows along theY-direction the contact holes 610 are arranged at a pitch Py. The pitchPy is larger than the pitch Px. Such a contact hole pattern may be, forexample, a pattern used to print a pattern of dense contact holes usinga so called double exposure lithographic method including two exposuresteps. The two exposure steps are part of two respective lithographicprinting processes. In the first lithographic printing process a firstpattern 600 of contact holes is formed on a substrate. In thesubsequent, second lithographic process a second pattern 600 of contactholes is formed on the substrate, the second process being arranged suchas to position the second pattern 600 of contact holes in interlacedposition with respect to the first pattern 600 of contact holes. Such adouble exposure method can be gleaned from U.S. Pat. No. 6,455,438.

In current apparatus employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, ingeneral, the projection system will have a magnification factor M(generally <1). For example, the imaging of the pattern onto the targetportion of the substrate by conventional lithographic projection systemsis arranged at a magnification M=−0.25. As discussed and shown hereinthe magnification M is assumed to be 1, so that the pattern of FIG. 6Ais also representative for an image of the desired pattern of contactholes to be printed lithographically. However, an embodiment of theinvention is not limited to the use of unit magnification projectionsystems; for magnifications different from 1 the actual magnificationcan readily be taken into account in the embodiment. In the context ofthe present text and claims; sizes of features are referred to as thosesizes that the features nominally have at substrate level.

In practice, the shape of a contact hole 610 as embodied at thepatterning device may deviate from circular. For example, the shape ofthe patterning device feature representing the contact hole may bearranged to compensate for an optical proximity effect, as discussedearlier. Generally, additional size deviations at the patterning deviceare introduced to compensate for errors occurring, for example, duringprojection and exposure of a pattern; such a re-sizing of features ofthe object pattern is referred to hereinafter as biasing and/or opticalproximity correction (“OPC”). Any such biasing is not shown in FIG. 6A.

With the pitch Py being larger than the pitch Px, a printed pattern maydeviate from the desired pattern 600 due to an optical proximity effect.An optical proximity effect would in the embodiment lead to contactholes 610 having an elliptical shape instead of a substantially circularshape, as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Any of the contact holes 610 may, forexample, desirably have a circular edge 611, “circular” also meaningsubstantially circular, whereas, a printed contact hole 610 may have anelliptical edge 611′. Hence, a size of a printed contact hole 610 alongthe X-direction differs from a size of the contact hole along theY-direction. Such a size-difference is also referred to, hereinafter, as“ellipiticity”. In the embodiment a conventional optical proximitycorrection may have been applied, in which case a residual amount ofCD-error such as an ellipticity of the contact hole as illustrated inFIG. 6B is assumed to be present.

In the embodiment, the value of pitch Px is 80 nm, and the value ofPitch Py is between 160 nm and 320 nm. The desired diameter of thecontact holes 610 is 40 nm. The projection process for printing thepattern 600 is characterized by the projection system PS having an NA of1.35, the radiation of the beam B having a wavelength of 193 nm, and thequadrupole illumination mode having poles with an azimuthal angularsubtend of 30°, an inner radial extent defined by σ_(inner)=0.75, and anouter radial extent defined by σ_(outer)=0.87.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the patterning device pattern 600 (not shownin FIG. 7) of patterning device MA diffracts the beam B1 into a zero anda first order diffracted beam, respectively the beams DB10 and DB11. Thebeams DB10 and DB11 traverse a Fourier Transform plane in the projectionsystem PS, e.g. the pupil plane PPp. The angle α1 is arranged such thatthe traversing of the pupil plane PPp occurs in respective oppositeareas AE10 and AE11 disposed symmetrically with respect to the opticalaxis OA (parallel to the Z-axis), at respective equal distances d10 andd11 (d10=d11) from the optical axis OA.

As shown in FIG. 8, the pattern 600 further diffracts the beam B2 in azero and a first order diffracted beam, respectively beams DB20 andDB21. The beams DB20 and DB21 traverse a Fourier Transform plane in theprojection system PS, e.g. the pupil plane PPp, in respective oppositeareas AE20 and AE21. In contrast to the areas AE10 and AE11, the areasAE20 and A21 are disposed asymmetrically with respect to the opticalaxis OA, at respective different distances d20 and d21 from the opticalaxis OA. The difference between the diffracted beams originating from B1and B2 is related to the difference between the pitches Px and Py of thecontact holes 610 as arranged in rows parallel to the X-axis and Y-axisrespectively. In particular, in comparison to features arranged atshorter pitch, features arranged at a longer pitch are less effective indiffracting radiation away from a zeroth order diffracted beam directionof a patterning device-illuminating beam.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, besides a first first-order diffracted beamDB11 originating from the beam B1 impinging on the patterning device MA,two additional diffracted beams DB10(+1) and DB10(−1) originate from thebeam B1. The first first-order diffracted beam DB11 is associated withthe relative short pitch Px in pattern 600. The second and thirdfirst-order diffracted beams DB10(+1) and DB10(−1) are associated withthe longer pitch Py of the pattern 600. The diffracted beams DB10(+1)and DB10(−1) are a plus-first order and a minus-first order diffractedbeam respectively, oppositely and symmetrically inclined with respect tothe plane PI1, being a notional plane comprising the zeroth orderdiffracted beam DB10 and the optical axis OA. At least portions of thebeams DB10(+1) and DB10(−1) traverse a Fourier Transform plane in theprojection system PS, e.g. the pupil plane PPp. Similarly, but not shownin FIG. 9, diffracted beams DB 10(+1)′ and DB 10(−1)′ originate from thebeam B1′.

The beams DB10(+1) and DB10(−1) traverse, in use, the pupil plane PPp inrespective areas AE10(+1) and AE10(−1) disposed oppositely andsymmetrically with respect to the plane of incidence PI1, at respectiveequal distances d10(+1) and d10(−1) from the X-axis in the pupil planePPp. Only area AE 10(+1) is shown in FIG. 9.

In the presence of quadrupole illumination such as illustrated in FIG.5, an image of a contact hole 610 can be represented as a sum of 4constituent images (images im1, im1′, im2 and im2′), respectivelygenerated by diffracted radiation originating from the four respectivepoles and beams B1, B1′, B2, and B2′ of the quadrupole illuminationintensity distribution in the illumination pupil plane PPi. FIG. 6Cillustrates an image of a contact hole 610, having an edge 611 (the edgemay for example be a contour line of constant intensity) and areas 620and 630 including portions of the edge 611.

A first image im1 of the sum of 4 images is generated by a recombinationof the beams DB10, DB11, DB10(+1) and DB10(−1), just above and at thesubstrate W. The recombination of the three different first orderdiffracted beams with beam DB10 in the image im1 contributes mainly tocontrast, resolution and image fidelity along the X-axis in the image ofthe contact hole pattern 600, resolving the portions 620 (includingportions of the edge 611 of the contact hole 610 substantially parallelto the Y-direction) of the contact hole 610 better than portions 630(including portions of the edge 611 of the contact hole 610substantially parallel to the X-direction) of the contact hole 610.Diffracted beams originating from the beam B1′ provide a similar imageim1′.

A second image im2 is generated by the recombination of the beams DB20and DB21 above and at the substrate, see FIG. 8. This second imagecontributes mainly to contrast, resolution and image fidelity along theY-direction in the image of the pattern 600, resolving the portions 630(including portions of the edge 611 of the contact hole 610substantially parallel to the X-direction) of the contact hole 610better than the portions 620 (including portions of the edge 611 of thecontact hole 610 substantially parallel to the Y-direction) of thecontact hole 610. A similar, second image im2′ originates fromdiffracted beams generated by diffraction of the beam B2′ at the pattern600.

In the embodiment, a CD-error due to ellipticity, such as illustrated inFIG. 6B, is compensated by affecting the contribution to imaging of theportions 630 of the contact hole 610. This contribution arises fromrecombination of the first first-order diffracted beam DB11 with thesecond and third first-order diffracted beams DB10(+1) and DB10(−1). Inthe embodiment, there is applied a change of optical phase to the beamsDB10(+1) and DB10(−1) with respect to the beam DB11. Further, there isapplied a same change of optical phase to beams DB10(+1)' and DB10(−1)'with respect to the beam DB11′. An effect of such phase changes isillustrated in FIG. 6D. In FIG. 6D, the X,Y axes are centered withrespect to the edge 611′ of a contact hole as it would be printedwithout the phase shifts applied. As such the contact hole represents animage-feature having a shape as defined by the edge 611′ in an image ofthe pattern. The phase changes lead to opposite shifts along the Xdirection of opposite portions of the edge 611′ at and near the X-axis.The shifts are indicated by the arrows 612, and are mirror symmetricwith respect to the Y-axis, thereby stretching the contact hole edgesuch as to desirably yield a circular edge 611.

For example, a first change of optical phase may be applied to the beamsDB10(+1) and DB10(−1) and a second change of optical phase may beapplied to the beam DB11. The phase adjuster 110 is used to providedesired phase changes to the beams DB10(+1), DB10(−1) and DB11. First,data representative for the patterning device pattern 600 and theillumination mode are retrieved, by controller 340, from apatterning-device data-file and a file including illumination modesetting data. Next, an intensity distribution in the pupil plane PPp ofthe projection system is predicted based on data including the patternand illumination data. Areas AE10(+1), AE10(−1) and AE11 are identifiedwhere the beams DB10(+1), DB10(−1) and DB11 traverse the optical element310 of phase adjuster 110. A lithographic process optimization, e.g.arranged to minimize CD-error of features, is executed by the controller340. Optimization variables used in the optimization include theaforementioned first and second change of optical phase. Desired firstand second optical phases are calculated and stored. The identifiedareas AE10(+1), AE10(−1) and AE11 are mapped on the portions 320 of theoptical element 310, and portions 320 substantially traversed by therespective beams DB10(+1), DB10(−1) and DB11 are identified and theiraddresses in relation to corresponding heating wires and/or coolingchannels are stored. In an embodiment, the area AE10(+1) is assumed tocorrespond to the portions 320-8 and 320-14, as illustrated in FIG. 10.As further shown in FIG. 10, the area AE10(−1) is assumed to correspondto the portions 320-35 and 320-41 and the area AE11 is assumed tocorrespond to portions 320-17 and 320-24. Similar determinations may bemade with respect to DB10(+1)′, DB10(−1)′ and DB11′.

In the embodiment, the desired first phase change for beams DB10(+1),DB10(−1) is a fraction 50/193 of 2n, and the desired phase change forbeam DB11 is of equal magnitude but of opposite sign compared to thefirst phase change. The controller converts the desired phase changesinto a respective desired first temperature for the portions 320-8,320-14, 320-35 and 320-41, and a desired second temperature for theportions 320-17 and 320-24, at opposite temperature intervals from adesired nominal temperature for any of the other portions of 320-1 up to320-44. Next, the controller determines and applies correspondingcurrents to the heating wires (and/or cooling fluid temperature to thechannels). In a similar way desired phase changes are applied to thebeams DB10(+1)′, DB 10(−1)′ and DB11′ originating from beam B1′.

As noted above the invention is not limited to the specific embodimentof the phase adjuster 110. A further embodiment of a phase adjuster 110may include an infrared laser (or a plurality of infrared lasers)arranged to selectively heat portions 320 of an optical element 310disposed near the lens pupil PP_(p).

The embodiment is not limited to stretching a shape of a contact hole.The feature may, instead of a contact hole, be a line segment or anarbitrary shaped feature having edge portions perpendicular to a lineconnecting the poles from which the beams B1 and B1′ originate. Theembodiment is also not limiting to stretching a feature; by invertingthe signs of the phase changes, a shrinking of a feature size may berealized as well.

Simulations predict that applying the first and second phase changes asdescribed above can result in a decrease of ellipticity for an image 610of a contact hole.

FIG. 11A illustrates an intensity distribution of an image of a contacthole 610, in the absence of a compensation for CD error of theembodiment. The intensity is plotted in arbitrary units along thevertical axis. Curve 1 represents the intensity distribution in theX,Z-plane and curve 2 the intensity distribution in the Y,Z-plane. At anintensity level where in the X,Z-plane the width of the curve is 42 nm,the width of the curve in the Y,Z-plane is 91 nm. The intensity level isrepresentative for resist threshold intensity, so that an ellipticity ofa contact hole is about 50 nm when expressed as a difference betweenprinted CD along the Y axis and printed CD along the X axis.

FIG. 11B illustrates an intensity distribution of an image of a contacthole 610, in the presence of the compensation for CD error of theembodiment. The intensity is plotted in arbitrary units along thevertical axis. As in FIG. 10A, curves 1 and 2 represent the intensitydistribution in the X,Z- and Y,Z-planes respectively. At an intensitylevel where in the X,Z-plane the width of the curve is 41 nm, the widthof the curve in the Y,Z-plane is 52 nm. This intensity level again beingrepresentative for resist threshold intensity, the simulations indicatethat the ellipticity (using the same definition) of contact hole 610 isreduced by a factor 5 to about 11 nm.

In an embodiment, there is provided a lithographic apparatus comprising:an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam with anillumination mode including an off-axis radiation beam emerging from anillumination pole and inclined at an angle with respect to an opticalaxis; a support constructed to support a patterning device, thepatterning device being capable of imparting the radiation beam with apattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam andfurther being capable of diffracting the off-axis radiation beam into afirst first-order diffracted beam associated with a first pitch of thepattern along a first direction, and a second first-order diffractedbeam associated with a second pitch of the pattern along a different,second direction; a projection system having a pupil plane andconfigured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portionof the substrate; a phase adjuster constructed and arranged to adjust aphase of an electric field of a radiation beam traversing an opticalelement of the phase adjuster disposed in the pupil plane; and acontroller constructed and arranged to retrieve data representative ofthe pattern and of the illumination mode, to identify an area where thefirst-order diffracted beam traverses, in use, the pupil plane, tooptimize an image characteristic of an image of the pattern bycalculating a desired optical phase of the first-order diffracted beamin relation to the optical phase of the second first-order diffractedbeam, to map the area on a portion of the optical element, and to applyheat to or extract heat from, the portion to change the index ofrefraction of the optical element in accordance with the desired opticalphase.

In an embodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of animage-feature in the image. In an embodiment, the illumination mode is aquadrupole illumination mode including a first and a second beam,emerging from a respective first and an adjacent second pole and bothinclined at the angle with respect to the optical axis. In anembodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature inthe image.

In an embodiment, there is provided a device manufacturing methodcomprising transferring a pattern from a patterning device onto asubstrate, the method including: illuminating, with a radiation beamhaving an illumination mode including an off-axis radiation beamemerging from an illumination pole and inclined at an angle with respectto an optical axis, a patterning device, the patterning device impartingthe radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form apatterned radiation beam and further diffracting the off-axis radiationbeam into a first first-order diffracted beam associated with a firstpitch along a first direction in the pattern, and into a secondfirst-order diffracted beam associated with a second pitch along adifferent, second direction in the pattern; projecting the patternedradiation beam via a pupil plane onto a target portion of the substrate;adjusting a phase of an electric field of a radiation beam traversing anoptical element disposed in the pupil plane, the adjusting including:retrieving data representative of the pattern and of the illuminationmode, identifying an area where the first-order diffracted beamtraverses the pupil plane, optimizing an image characteristic of animage of the pattern by calculating a desired optical phase of thefirst-order diffracted beam in relation to the optical phase of thesecond first-order diffracted beam, mapping the area on a portion of theoptical element, and applying heat to or extracting heat from, theportion to change the index of refraction of the optical element inaccordance with the desired optical phase.

In an embodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of animage-feature in the image. In an embodiment, the illumination mode is aquadrupole illumination mode including a first and a second beam,emerging from a respective first and an adjacent second pole and bothinclined at the angle with respect to the optical axis. In anembodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature inthe image.

In an embodiment, there is provided a phase adjustment system,comprising: a phase adjuster constructed and arranged to adjust a phaseof an electric field of a radiation beam traversing an optical elementof the phase adjuster disposed, in use, in a pupil plane of a projectionsystem configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a targetportion of a substrate, the patterned radiation beam having a patternformed by a patterning device diffracting an off-axis radiation beamemerging from an illumination pole and inclined at an angle with respectto an optical axis into a first first-order diffracted beam associatedwith a first pitch of the pattern along a first direction, and a secondfirst-order diffracted beam associated with a second pitch of thepattern along a different, second direction; and a controllerconstructed and arranged to retrieve data representative of the patternand of the illumination pole, to identify an area where the first-orderdiffracted beam traverses, in use, the pupil plane, to optimize an imagecharacteristic of an image of the pattern by calculating a desiredoptical phase of the first-order diffracted beam in relation to theoptical phase of the second first-order diffracted beam, to map the areaon a portion of the optical element, and to apply heat to or extractheat from, the portion to change the index of refraction of the opticalelement in accordance with the desired optical phase.

In an embodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of animage-feature in the image. In an embodiment, the illumination pole ispart of a quadrupole illumination mode including a first and a secondbeam, emerging from a respective first and an adjacent second pole andboth inclined at the angle with respect to the optical axis. In anembodiment, the image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature inthe image.

Although specific reference may be made in this text to the use oflithographic apparatus in the manufacture of ICs, it should beunderstood that the lithographic apparatus described herein may haveother applications, such as the manufacture of integrated opticalsystems, guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories,flat-panel displays, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), thin-film magneticheads, etc. The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in the context ofsuch alternative applications, any use of the terms “wafer” or “die”herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general terms“substrate” or “target portion”, respectively. The substrate referred toherein may be processed, before or after exposure, in for example atrack (a tool that typically applies a layer of resist to a substrateand develops the exposed resist), a metrology tool and/or an inspectiontool. Where applicable, the disclosure herein may be applied to such andother substrate processing tools. Further, the substrate may beprocessed more than once, for example in order to create a multi-layerIC, so that the term substrate used herein may also refer to a substratethat already contains multiple processed layers.

The terms “radiation” and “beam” used herein encompass all types ofelectromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g.having a wavelength of or about 365, 355, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm) andextreme ultra-violet (EUV) radiation (e.g. having a wavelength in therange of 5-20 nm).

The term “lens”, where the context allows, may refer to any one orcombination of various types of optical components, includingrefractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostaticoptical components.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above,it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as described. For example, the invention may take the form of acomputer program containing one or more sequences of machine-readableinstructions describing a method as disclosed above, or a data storagemedium (e.g. semiconductor memory, magnetic or optical disk) having sucha computer program stored therein.

The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modificationsmay be made to the invention as described without departing from thescope of the claims set out below.

1. A lithographic apparatus comprising: an illumination systemconfigured to condition a radiation beam with an illumination modeincluding an off-axis radiation beam emerging from an illumination poleand inclined at an angle with respect to an optical axis; a supportconstructed to support a patterning device, the patterning device beingcapable of imparting the radiation beam with a pattern in itscross-section to form a patterned radiation beam and further beingcapable of diffracting the off-axis radiation beam into a firstfirst-order diffracted beam associated with a first pitch of the patternalong a first direction, and a second first-order diffracted beamassociated with a second pitch of the pattern along a different, seconddirection; a projection system having a pupil plane and configured toproject the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of thesubstrate; a phase adjuster constructed and arranged to adjust a phaseof an electric field of a radiation beam traversing an optical elementof the phase adjuster disposed in the pupil plane; and a controllerconstructed and arranged to retrieve data representative of the patternand of the illumination mode, to identify an area where the first-orderdiffracted beam traverses, in use, the pupil plane, to optimize an imagecharacteristic of an image of the pattern by calculating a desiredoptical phase of the first-order diffracted beam in relation to theoptical phase of the second first-order diffracted beam, to map the areaon a portion of the optical element, and to apply heat to or extractheat from, the portion to change the index of refraction of the opticalelement in accordance with the desired optical phase.
 2. Thelithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image characteristic is ashape of an image-feature in the image.
 3. The lithographic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the illumination mode is a quadrupole illumination modeincluding a first and a second beam, emerging from a respective firstand an adjacent second pole and both inclined at the angle with respectto the optical axis.
 4. The lithographic apparatus of claim 3, whereinthe image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature in the image. 5.A device manufacturing method comprising transferring a pattern from apatterning device onto a substrate, the method including: illuminating,with a radiation beam having an illumination mode including an off-axisradiation beam emerging from an illumination pole and inclined at anangle with respect to an optical axis, a patterning device, thepatterning device imparting the radiation beam with a pattern in itscross-section to form a patterned radiation beam and further diffractingthe off-axis radiation beam into a first first-order diffracted beamassociated with a first pitch along a first direction in the pattern,and into a second first-order diffracted beam associated with a secondpitch along a different, second direction in the pattern; projecting thepatterned radiation beam via a pupil plane onto a target portion of thesubstrate; adjusting a phase of an electric field of a radiation beamtraversing an optical element disposed in the pupil plane, the adjustingincluding: retrieving data representative of the pattern and of theillumination mode, identifying an area where the first-order diffractedbeam traverses the pupil plane, optimizing an image characteristic of animage of the pattern by calculating a desired optical phase of thefirst-order diffracted beam in relation to the optical phase of thesecond first-order diffracted beam, mapping the area on a portion of theoptical element, and applying heat to or extracting heat from, theportion to change the index of refraction of the optical element inaccordance with the desired optical phase.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature in theimage.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the illumination mode is aquadrupole illumination mode including a first and a second beam,emerging from a respective first and an adjacent second pole and bothinclined at the angle with respect to the optical axis.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the image characteristic is a shape of an image-featurein the image.
 9. A phase adjustment system, comprising: a phase adjusterconstructed and arranged to adjust a phase of an electric field of aradiation beam traversing an optical element of the phase adjusterdisposed, in use, in a pupil plane of a projection system configured toproject a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate,the patterned radiation beam having a pattern formed by a patterningdevice diffracting an off-axis radiation beam emerging from anillumination pole and inclined at an angle with respect to an opticalaxis into a first first-order diffracted beam associated with a firstpitch of the pattern along a first direction, and a second first-orderdiffracted beam associated with a second pitch of the pattern along adifferent, second direction; and a controller constructed and arrangedto retrieve data representative of the pattern and of the illuminationpole, to identify an area where the first-order diffracted beamtraverses, in use, the pupil plane, to optimize an image characteristicof an image of the pattern by calculating a desired optical phase of thefirst-order diffracted beam in relation to the optical phase of thesecond first-order diffracted beam, to map the area on a portion of theoptical element, and to apply heat to or extract heat from, the portionto change the index of refraction of the optical element in accordancewith the desired optical phase.
 10. The phase adjustment system of claim9, wherein the image characteristic is a shape of an image-feature inthe image.
 11. The phase adjustment system of claim 9, wherein theillumination pole is part of a quadrupole illumination mode including afirst and a second beam, emerging from a respective first and anadjacent second pole and both inclined at the angle with respect to theoptical axis.
 12. The phase adjustment system of claim 11, wherein theimage characteristic is a shape of an image-feature in the image.